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08/12/2007
News / Officers seeing more invalid, or fake, Mexican driver's licensesOrangeburg County deputies were patrolling North Road around 10 p.m. on July 2 when they spotted a car barrel out of a side road without stopping for the stop sign.Deputies stopped the 1995 Ford, and the driver presented a document that appeared to be an expired Mexican driver’s license. The driver told the officers he didn’t have insurance on the vehicle, but he promised to obtain car insurance the next day. “The problem is when you have a person who is not properly documented, if a person is driving and he has some sort of a bogus identification, not only will he not have a valid driver’s license – chances are he doesn’t have any insurance,” Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Chief Wendell Davis said. In recent months, local law enforcement has encountered an increasing number of instances in which a motorist has been operating a vehicle on South Carolina’s roadways illegally. The motorists can provide only a Mexican driver’s license, which can be used here only under certain conditions. The licenses are sometimes fake. In the July 2 incident, the 26-year-old driver of the Ford was charged with no S.C. driver’s license, disregarding a traffic control device and operating an uninsured vehicle. “If that person gets out and is involved in an accident and he has no insurance, you will not be able to recoup anything on your vehicle,” Davis said. But he’s not the only one. On June 23, police determined a man was at fault in a two-car collision at the junction of Stonewall Jackson Boulevard and Murray Road, according to an ODPS incident report. The man presented police with a Mexican driver’s license. The 35-year-old was charged with no driver’s license, open container and driving left of center. That same day, a Banashee Circle man was arrested after Orangeburg County deputies stopped a vehicle traveling 75 mph in a 55 mph zone, according to an OCSO incident report. Deputies spotted a vehicle traveling at what appeared to be a high rate of speed. When stopped, the driver presented deputies with a Mexican driver’s license. The 27-year-old was charged with operating an uninsured vehicle, speeding and no driver’s license. Again on June 23, another man was arrested after deputies stopped a vehicle traveling 75 mph in a 55 mph zone, according to an OCSO incident report. When stopped, the driver presented deputies with a Mexican driver’s license. The 27-year-old was charged with operating an uninsured vehicle, speeding and no driver’s license. The following day, police arrested another man, charging him with multiple traffic violations after officers spotted a vehicle using blue lights. Around 11:03 p.m., police were patrolling the Magnolia Street area when they observed a vehicle pass that had two blue lights attached to its hood. When officers stopped the car, the driver presented police with a Mexican driver’s license. The 22-year-old driver was charged with a violation of proper vehicle lighting, no driver’s license issued and operating an uninsured vehicle. The list goes on. On July 31, an ODPS officer was patrolling the Chestnut and Broughton Street areas when he stopped for a red light. Pulling up beside the police officer was a gray Chevrolet truck, its radio blaring out of the vehicle’s window. When the officer stopped the vehicle, its driver offered up a Mexican driver’s license. He went to jail, charged with having no driver’s license and playing excessive radio noise. According to the S.C. Code of Laws, section 56-1-30(6), a foreign national can obtain a driver’s license here if he or she is at least 18 years old, is employed here and has a driver’s license issued from a country with a mutual agreement with the Palmetto State. The only places with a reciprocal agreement for the operation of passenger cars within South Carolina are France, Germany, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau and the Federated State of Micronesia, according to the SCDMV. Also, a Mexican driver’s license is valid in the Palmetto State but only if the driver has successfully applied for international documentation, which accompanies that driver at all times, according to Sid Gaulden, spokesman for the S.C. Department of Public Safety. “A Mexican DL (driver’s license) is valid here as long as the driver has an international DL,” Gaulden said. “A Mexican DL by itself isn’t valid.” South Carolina does, however, have an agreement with Mexico concerning commercial driver’s licenses. But that is limited to driving commercial vehicles only. The problem, as officials see it, is someone is out there preying on the Hispanic community, whether they’re here legally or not. Davis said many of the Mexican driver’s licenses officers are encountering are simply counterfeit, created perhaps in someone’s garage. “What we have is these individuals are under the impression these licenses are valid,” he said. “A Mexican driver’s license is not valid – particularly when they’re obtained through a third party, they’re not valid.” Officials say that some of the Hispanic community may be susceptible to scams. Two years ago an individual was arrested by ODPS for making counterfeit Mexican driver’s licenses sold to the buyer, unsuspecting or not, as authentic. “We did identify a party that was local that was producing what was purported to be valid licenses,” Davis said. “Apparently, a person would pay approximately $100 and was told it would be valid.” “I concur with Chief Davis,” S.C. Highway Patrol Capt. Chris Williamson said of the recent spate of incidents. “Somebody’s deceiving these people, saying that it’s something valid.” Williamson said Troop 7, of which Orangeburg County is a part, has seen its share of the Mexican driver’s licenses as well. South Carolina law requires an individual to change his driver’s license from his former country or state within 30 days. After that, the driver is in violation. What it boils down to, officials say, is the problem with illegal immigration, when an individual here needs transportation but doesn’t have the documentation to be in the U.S. legally. “The fact is there has been some people who are unregistered,” Davis said. “There are people who are not documented correctly, and they’re trying to circumvent the registration.” Davis said when an individual has been arrested without proper documentation, their information then goes to federal immigration officials. T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com. By RICHARD WALKER,T&D Staff Writer | Sunday, August 12, 2007 http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2007/08/12/news/doc46be8441ec281709492238.txt |
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